In Another Life

117 Colby's POV

"Oh yeah, of course!" she exclaimed, holding her pen and pad out again. We all gave our orders, and she flashed us a smile before hurrying behind the double doors that I was assuming led to the kitchen area. "I guess they do watch us in the South," Jake joked, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on the table, before placing his head in his hands. "Yeah, guess so," I replied, catching Sam's eye. He looked as worried as I felt. I hated that I always had to be this way, on guard, never able to fully relax when we were in public. I shrugged at Sam, then glanced at Terra. She was twisting her napkin in her hands and staring down at the scuffed wooden table. "You okay?" I asked quietly, assuming that she was worried about getting recognized on Instagram or something. She nodded and looked up at me, smiling, but I could see something in her eyes. "It's going to be okay. Even if the rumor gets around that I was here with a girl, no one will know that it was you," I reassured her. She shook her head and bit her lip, before looking back down at the table. "I'm not worried about that," she replied softly. "Then what's wrong? Don't say nothing, because I can see it in your face," I replied back, a little sternly. She sighed and looked up again. "Nothing is wrong though. I just realized when Sam said-" she stopped herself and started blushing, looking up at me. "You came here for me, didn't you? This entire trip...maybe I'm stupid for thinking that is all about me, but when Sam said it was last minute, it just started to add up in my head and I..." She sighed and looked back down at the table. "I'm probably wrong. I'm sorry, and I shouldn't have said anything. It just seemed like that and I was thinking how crazy that was, to fly all the way out here, just for me. So yeah, I know that's not the reason, now that I think about it, because that would be insane. Forget I said anything." I just stared at her through her rambling, noticing how her cheeks would flame up for a minute, then pale, only to flame up again. Her voice trembled a little, when she was unsure of what she was saying, and she had lay the twisted napkin down only to start fidgeting with her rings. A move that was all too familiar to me. "Terra," I replied softly. I knew I shouldn't. I knew that this was only going to make things harder for her, for both of us, when the time came, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. She looked back up at me, meeting my gaze with her unsure aqua one. "We did need an idea for a new video but...I did plan this trip thinking that I would get to spend more time with you. So you're not stupid for thinking that, because it's true. I wanted to see you again and this was a good way to do it." A small smile flitted across her full lips, and as she licked her bottom lip before pressing her teeth down into the soft skin there, I felt that familiar pull in my stomach. It had been a while since...well, it had just been a while and my body and mind were now reminding me of that fact. "Really?" she asked softly, still twisting her rings. I reached up, now feeling nervous, and started twisting my helix piercing out of habit. "Yes, really," I replied, leaning over to press my lips to hers for just a second, remembering that we had fans in the area, before I pulled away quickly. I glanced around the room, making sure that no one was watching. Thankfully, it seemed like everyone was minding their own business, and our waitress was nowhere to be seen. Terra noticed me looking around, and a small frown crossed those gorgeous lips this time. "Sorry," I whispered, meeting her gaze bashfully. She shook her head. "Don't be. I'm just sorry that you have to act this way. It's not fair to you," she replied. I just looked at her in amazement. I had literally just pulled away from her, just to make sure that no one saw me kissing her and she felt bad for me?? Shouldn't she be mad at me for caring what others think or that it might be spread to social media? Shouldn't she be mad because I wasn't telling people about her? I didn't understand this girl, but damned if I didn't think I was falling in love with her. Wait...what? falling in love with her? No. No, that wasn't possible. I knew that I really liked her, and cared for her, but there was no one in hell that I could be falling in love with her. Not when I had already decided to end it. There was no way this could work. It was already determined. Fuck, but this was going to hurt. Our waitress, Andrea, came back out then, pushing a roll away cart with all of our plates and drinks on it, saving me from replying to Terra. She passed the plates out, fumbling a little, before she broke down and asked for autographs and pictures. "Sure, that's no problem but let's do it when we finish eating, okay?" Sam said nicely, motioning towards the plate in front of him, while he smiled at the flustered girl. She nodded happily. "Yeah, of course, I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking! Of course you should eat first! Thank you so much! I wouldn't usually bother you guys like this, but I doubt there will be another time that I get this chance. Okay, I'll let you eat, I'm so sorry. Enjoy your meals," she gushed out, before almost running back over to the register to ring someone else up. "She was excited," Corey said, grinning, before biting into his burger. "Yeah, let's not forget to get some pictures with her before we leave, okay?" Sam replied, digging into his own meal.